Product Description
Twelve-year-old Ron Baker finds a minibike while scuba diving and, with the help of a former motorcycle rider and racer, restores the bike and enters competition. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (23)

inappropriate for young readers
i bought this book for a third grader.i wanted to preview the book before giving it to the student.upon reading the first two chapters, there were many words and phrases that i though were bad for a young child to read.
Example: "i wanted to cuss him"... "darn it"..."jerk"

I would not recommend this book for young readers.

What a discovery...........
Dirt bike racer is about a teenage boy who was scuba diving one day with his friend and decides to dive deeper than he usually does, and on his way down he catches something out of the corner of his eye. It was a dirt bike! And from then on the fun began.
The coolest part of the book was when he actually started riding the bike. I couldn't believe how fast he got used to it. Usually it would take you awhile to get used to a new dirt bike, especially if you have never ridden dirt bikes before. But hey, it's a book.
I would recommend this book because it's a great story for guys, like me, who don't like reading. This is a great book for somebody who is actually interested in dirt bike books. There is plenty of action and some comedy. The book has some illustrations, but my favorite one was of a list of the parts he needed for the bike, since it was in the water for so long. All in all it was the best book I have read this year.

Dirt Bike Racer
This was a great book, I could hardly put it down. It was nothing less than amazing. The best part was...THE WHOLE BOOK!! It had a great story line. Fasinating. it was only 281 pages but thats not all, there a second book I haven't gotten to yet. I would like to read it sometime in the near future. All it takes is the ability to read and your off, into the book and you don't even notice. Matt Christopher is a great sports writter. The reason i like his books so much is because I love sports. It's true. the book really got alot out of me. i used to like dirt bikes but, one time, i was riding with my friend and i hit a ditch and i went for the air and then hit the ground, hard. It hurt alot (of course) but i stoped riding for a long time, even till this day I haven't gotten near a dirt bike. but now ill look into it and i might even have enough courage to start riding again. Maybe. Well overall it was a great book and I hope that you will be able to read this book and the next book to.

dirt bike racer
One of the books I read from the author Matt Christopher is called Dirt Bike Racer. The book began at Ron's house. One day he went scuba diving and he saw a dirt bike. Then two weeks later he went back to see if it was still there. Then Matt took it with him home and his dad helped him fix it.

In the middle of the story they heard something in Ron's garage.The neighbor saw it, too, and he called the cops. They were in the garage and they found screws on the floor from the dirt bike. The thief was going to steal parts of the dirt bike.

I like this story because I like to ride dirt bikes. You can go off ramps and to do flips and back flips. This author, Matt Christopher, seems to like sports just like me such as football, baseball and dirt biking. It was exciting for Ron to find a dirt bike in the ocean. If you read this book you would like
it as much as I did!

Dirtbike Racer
Dirt Bike Racer is about a young man whos name is Ron and one day Ron and his friend Tony went scuba diving underwater, Well ron happen to see a dirtbike underwater in the lake.So him and his buddy pulled it out from the lake and took a look at it. It was going to need some work done to it and he was going to need money.So then ron meets some blind old man named Mr.Perkins. Mr.Perkins gave ron a job so that he can fix up his dirt bike.
Do you want to know more.... Read the dirt bike racer by Matt Christopher. I encourage many people to read it.Its an exciting and thrilling book! ... Read more

Product Description
A shy, unhappy sixteen-year-old with a talent for working with motorcycles runs away from his foster home and gets involved with a variety of people, both bad and good. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (14)

dirt bike
The book dirt bike runaway by matt Christopher is a very good book .I would recommend the book to anyone of any age. The book is very action packed and it one of the best books I have ever read. In the book there are allot of twists and turns in the beginning a boy named peter gets beat up by a boy named decks. After the fight decks invites peter to come race with him and his crew. If you want an action packed and good book then. I think you should read Dirt Bike run away.

dirt bike
The book dirt bike runaway by matt Christopher is a very good book .I would recommend the book to anyone of any age. The book is very action packed and it one of the best books I have ever read. In the book there are allot of twists and turns in the beginning a boy named peter gets beat up by a boy named decks. After the fight decks invites peter to come race with him and his crew. If you want an action packed and good book then. I think you should read Dirt Bike run away.

A Desprate Ride

Have you ever heard of a dirtbike? Have you ever ridden a dirtbike? If you have then you know how much fun they can be. In the book Dirtbike Runaway by the popular fictional sports novelist Matt Christopher, a young boy named Peter gets to live his dreams of riding in a motocross event, makes some lifelong friends, and learns that you can trust no one.
Sixteen year old Peter is a foster child who doesn't like sports and doesn't trust anyone. But then a nice family, the Bentleys decides to adopt him. For six months he lives with them, they are the perfect family, or so it seems. After a while, the Bentleys start to work more and more, Peter is left to baby sit their eighteen year old son. The Bentleys son finds some alcohol and wants Peter to have some so Peter runs away. Peter hitchhikes to a nearby town where he stumbles upon a motocross track. There, he is framed and attacked by a bad kid named Dex. Later on Dex causes many problems in Peter's life.
It seems like all is lost until Peter meets Giff. Giff understands Peter's problems and becomes his friend. He gives Peter a chance to work on his dirtbike and Peter proves to be a natural. Giff even starts off Peter's motocross career by letting him ride in the motocross events held each Saturday.He even gives Peter somewhere to sleep, and maybe even a home, but you'll have to read the book to find out.
I really enjoyed this book and recommend it to anyone who likes books full of action and speed. At first I was hesitant to read books by a sports author because I don't like sports, but since I own a couple dirtbikes I decided that I'd give it a try. I made the right choice and I even think I might read another novel by a sports author.

Peters second chance
The reason why I recommend this book is that if you have talents try to find a way to put it top good use. Another reason why I recommend this book is because it shows no matter how much you hate someone you should help them if they are injured or become injured. Also if you want something bad enough work for it you may get it. An excellent example of having a talent and using it is when peter fixes a bike that dose not even run. A good example of helping some that you hate that is in trouble and trying to help them is when Dex wipes out during a race, peter gives up the lead to help Dex to safety. If you want something bad enough work for it and you may get it. The example of this is when dex wiped out and peter helped him, peter finished the race ahead of dex, this is something peter wanted for a very long time.

Watch Kids!By Robert
Have you ever thought of running away from home? In Dirt Bike Runaway, Peter ran away from his foster home.Well in my opinion I believe that his adventures were exciting and mind blowing, BUT I don't recommended that anyone run away.In the story Peter meets Jess Kutter, Bill Rocco, Dexter.
The book starts out as a fight between Dex (A.K.A. Dexter) and Peter. In the middle he met Giff & D.C. You are not going to believe all the mischief these boys get themselves into.Peter is well on his way to getting the REAL family he deserves.Find out who he calls family.
Dirt bike runaway is a great book that will really knock your socks off! The author was Matt Christopher. This is one of the gratis book I have ever read .I would remand this book to anyone. I rate it a five stars.
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Product Description
7 Book Set By Matt Christopher; Cool As Ice; Wingman on Ice; Ice Magic; Skateboard Tough; Snowboard Showdown; Dirt Bike Racer; Windmill Windup. ... Read more

Product Description
Motocross is the sport of racing off-road motorcycles. Riders complete several laps around a course of jumps, turns, hills, and bumps. After learning how to ride a dirt bike safely, many kids decide to race. Racing is tough but with dedication, practice, and patience, anyone can become a dirt bike racer! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

hello Dirt Bikers
wats up? if you are a hardcore dirt biker then you should read this book.if you don't ride then you should read it anyway because it shows you what it is like to ride a dirt bike!Lates:) ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Huge hit in our home
My 10 year old son has been reading this book since he received it for Christmas. Over and over again. ... Read more

Product Description
Off-road motorcycling is on the rise. Sales are up, motocross gates are filling with riders, and new manufacturers are dotting the motocross landscape, with Cannondale being the most notable of a group that also includes expensive, exotic bikes by Gas Gas, Vertemati, and TM. In addition, the new four-strokes are making waves among the sports' participants, and the X Games are bringing the sport even further into the mainstream. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

The Evolution of the Motocross Bike
Motocross Racers is an Australian production that has been published for the American market by Motorbooks, the prolific Minnesota-based motorsports label.It's a beautifully produced book that serves as both a picture book as well as a guide to the constant evolution of the post-war motocross machine.The author Ray Ryan and photographers Bill Forsyth and Jeremy Holland are all active in the vintage motocross movement and work together on the magazine VMX.

For the uninitiated, motocross is a form of off-road motorcycle competition where the riders race on unpaved circuits with steep hills, descents, straights and corners.Originally these circuits were natural paths through British and European parks, but eventually more challenging, purpose-built courses became the norm. Because the bike has to be muscled around the circuit, with the arms lifting the handlebars and the legs absorbing the shock of repeated landings, it is a deceptively athletic event, requiring good upper and lower body strength as well as endurance. Crashes are also part of the sport, but the most common result of these are muscle strains, bruising and broken bones rather than serious injury, for modern safety gear has made the sport much safer.

Motocross started in Great Britain in 1924, where the sport was originally called "scrambles," and it gradually became popular in Europe. By 1952 a European Championship was organized, and in 1957 that series became a World Championship. Immigrants from England and the continent brought the sport to Australia and New Zealand, where it became popular after World War II.

In the United States, where flat-track racing on oval courses had long been popular, scrambles on closed circuits only had a small following until the 1960s.By 1966 and 1967, when European riders like Torsten Hallman and Oriel Puig Bulto began to demonstrate their abilities on the relatively easy American courses, some American riders began to specialize in motocross.The Trans-AMA, a U.S. series with the top international riders, began in 1970 and helped to fix motocross in the American consciousness and start an off-road motorcycle boom in the States.In the early years of the Trans-AMA, European riders were dominant, but in 1978, the last year of the series, Bob "Hurricane" Hannah was the victor. By the 1980s, U.S. motocross had come of age and American riders began a 13-year winning streak at the Motocross de Nations, the "Olympics of Motocross."

In any sport that pits one man and machine against another, competitors will improve their machine in order to gain an edge against their rivals.In the 1940s motocross bikes were usually just street bikes that were stripped of their lights and other road equipment, but gradually these lightly modified machines - which did not cope well with the bumps and jumps of the rough circuits - gave way to stronger, lighter custom frames made of light-but-strong chrome-moly tubing for those who were factory-sponsored or who could afford them.The best riders rode on hand-built factory specials, the production of which was only affordable for factories which sold thousands of motorcycles.Some riders began fabricating "bitsa" bikes (for a bit of this and a bit of that), which gradually led to the mass-production of specialized motocross bikes from major manufacturers who tested components and concepts on their prototype bikes known as "works bikes."

During the evolution of the sport of motocross from the 1950s through the 1970s, the top manufacturers in the early years were in Belgian (FN or Fabrique National) and British (BSA, Norton, Matchless), then Czech (CZ), Swedish (Lito, Husqvarna), and German (Maico). In the 1960s and `70s, the tremendous engineering talent and volume of the Japanese began to tell, and Suzuki, Yamaha and Honda won one world title after another while also dominating the huge new sport of American motocross. By the late 1970s, the four large Japanese factories were selling more than a million motocross bikes a year.

Stadium motocross, known as "Supercross," began in the United States and soon spread to Europe.Drawing audiences of 70,000 or more, Supercross events were incredibly successful and immediately outdrew the crowds on outdoor circuits.Its tremendous popularity was a lifeline for outdoor motocross in the United States, where the circuits were usually far away from population centers.Because the spectacular supercross events were fast-paced, colorful and easy to film, they made motocross into a trendy sport and top riders like Bob Hannah and Jeremy McGrath became household names.

Engine technology also changed dramatically over the decades. In the 1950s, heavier, more complex four-stroke engines (where the spark plug fires every four times the engine's piston rotates) were dominant in motocross, but by the 1960s, two-stroke technology had evolved to the point where their greater power and lighter weight made them the mount of choice.However, in recent years things have come full circle as the two-stroke engine, which produces considerably more emissions, has come to be seen as an evolutionary dead-end and has been replaced by new, powerful, lightweight 4-stroke designs.

All this evolution is on display in Motocross Racers, which starts out with four-stroke motocross bikes. First there is an exotic factory-built Les Archer Manx-Norton special, then a lengthy section on the legendary Rickman-Metisse, the English frame kits that made factory "works bike" technology available to the every rider who could afford them in the 1960s. This is followed by an Eric Cheney-built custom bike with the famous BSA Gold Star engine, then a BSA 441 "Victor" Grand Prix bike.The transition to two-stroke technology begins with the unbreakable Czech CZ, a classic Swedish Husqvarna 250 motocrosser that was ridden by the World Champion Torsten Hallman, followed by a 1967 Suzuki TM 250, the Japanese company's first real stab at what was becoming a growing market. The last bike of the 1960s featured in the book is the small Hodaka Super Rat, a 100cc motocross bike which got thousands of American boys started in the sport.

Motocross Racers includes the ground-breaking 1973 Honda Elsinore, a Bultaco Pursang Mk 7, then World Champion Joel Robert's featherweight "works" Suzuki RH250, the rare British four-stroke CCM special, a bike that couldn't make the grade because of its low power-to-weight ratio, the revolutionary 1974 Yamaha460YB, that began the single rear shock revolution, another Husqvarna, one of the CZ company's last competitive bikes, a rare Puch factory motocrosser, then there is a steady stream of long-travel 1980s Japanese mounts - Hondas, Yamahas, Kawasakis and Suzukis - only broken up by a Husqvarna and a Maico, as the Japanese had become dominant in racing as well as technological development. The march of bikes concludes with some 1990s Yamahas and Hondas, the development of the monocoque-framed motocross bike and finally, with the Austrian KTM company's latest model at press-time, the 2003, KTM525SX, a light, powerful 4-stroke bike with a wonderfully broad powerband.

Rather than a steady narrative, author Ray Ryan has chosen to cover each of his motorcycles in its own chapter, describing the unique strength and weakness of the bike and the part it played in the evolution of the motocross bike.His writing is clear, concise and the text is not overly technical, but those new to motocross may want to look some things up on the Internet.There isn't a lot of information on the riders of each era, but the focus here is on the technical development, rather than the personalities involved.The images are outstanding, with virtually all of the posed in suitable outdoor locations. It would have been nice to see more period action shots, but permission and photo gathering may have been an issue, especially for authors working from Australia. In only 158 pages of text, Ryan covers a lot of bumpy ground.I can't think of a better introduction to the mechanical side of history than Motocross Racers: 30 Years of Legendary Dirt Bikes.

Memory book ~ Dream book
A beautiful book that has a great photo or two of many historic race bikes over the years.
The commentary on each machine and why it is significant is very well written.
A great book to have on the coffee table or on the work bench to spark discussions among riders of all ages.
Highly recommended!

Glorious pipe-dream fuel !
Great compendium of real-world bikes (vital for making the dreams all the more real), with just enough detail in the copy to keep you moving through.

More of a coffee table book than a body of serious restoration material but until they fully reprint the first 18 issues of VMX magazine and sell it as a book, this is as good as it'll probably get.

If you didn't want to expand (or start) your vintage MX collection to further relive the prime of dirtbike evolution before hand , you sure will after buying this.

Well worth having and works as a nice partner to the book "legendary motocross bikes".

Heartwarming
Motocross Racers 30 Years of Legendary Bikes
By: Ray Ryan


This book is full of heart warming photos and facts about the bikes that started it all.I would recommend this book to all of those people who would like to learn about motocross history and people who make motocross a part of there own lives.This book is not for people who would like to sit down and read a nice picture book.This book has cold hard facts about who made bikes back then for motocross and also how they have changed throughout the years and the very first racers with these bikes.


I this book because it taght me what bikes were like a long time ago and because of how it went withinthe bike to show you how the engines and the whole bike really evolved from that time to present day.


This book teaches readers about the past in motocross.By the ebd of this book readers will have a full understanding of motocross and there values.



I would rate this book for about4 ½ stars

Nice book. Good value
It's a delightful book - BUT if you expected a selection of bikes that included your own, don't count on it. If you had a big-bore machine, you're going to love this book. If you are one of the MANY who didn't, you may find this book a disappointment, in not being two or three times as thick.

The VMX world can be grateful for this book. But a new edition or addition is needed.
Definately Recommended.
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Product Description
Discusses dirt bikes, their main features, and how they are raced. ... Read more

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Testing their bikes in the desert, three friends help a stranded family and then find their own plans interrupted by a deadly snake. ... Read more

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FOR USE IN SCHOOLS AND LIBRARIES ONLY. ... Read more

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Humor, Insight and Some Really Weird Adventures

Off-road motorcycle tales, at times hilarious, at times bizarre, but with never a dull moment as the beginner becomes a fortysomething veteran. Real life experiencesand tall tales combine to put a smile on the face of anyone who enjoys the outdoors and free spirited adventure. With b&w illustrations and full colour cover. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Boring with a splatter of humor
I was hoping to read some really cool stories about people's experiences out on the trail.While to an extent that happens, the stories are very boring and seemingly written by a non-writer.There are some really dumb stories as well.For example, there is one that deals with a black hole that a rider rides through and defeats some type of dragon (yes, I said dragon).There is another story about some guy who finds himself stranded on the trail and eventually finds himself making love to an environmentalist woman.Maybe you would enjoy this book more than I.I simply did not get it. ... Read more

Product Description
This digital document is an article from Powersports Business, published by Ehlert Publishing Group on April 24, 2006. The length of the article is 768 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Four-strokes key to market revival: increased youth sales followed the rise in popularity of four-stroke dirt bikes.(FOCUS: OFF-ROAD MOTORCYCLES)
Author: Bill Wolf
Publication: Powersports Business (Magazine/Journal)
Date: April 24, 2006
Publisher: Ehlert Publishing Group
Volume: 9Issue: 6Page: 14(1)

Distributed by Thomson Gale ... Read more